Autism Speaks, Community, In Their Own Words, Justin's Touchdown

Justin's Touchdown

By Robert Civitano

Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.

Last November, we featured Coach of the Year, written by the father of a boy with autism, who had succeeded in his first season of Pop Warner football. Robert Civitano shares his story of another successful season experienced by his son, Justin, below.

My son played football again this year, and as we anticipated, the physical demands were hard on him. He refused to quit, and really gave all he could. I explained to his coaches, as I did last year, about Justin's PDD/Aspergers Syndrome and Tourette Syndrome. So they knew what to expect and how to deal with it. Over the course of the season, Justin got better and better as a player, and as a member of the team. As it turns out, Justin can catch a

Justin and his coach

football better than any other kid on the team. He played most of every game this season, and they threw him the ball three times.

Today was the day that he (as well as we) was waiting for. It was the 4^th quarter of the last game of their regular season; they were on about the 20 yard line. I saw Justin line up on the end and go for a pass into the end zone, where he and the defender both jumped into the air for the ball. When it was tipped up by the defender, Justin kept his concentration, caught it and made the touchdown.

View video highlights of Justin's touchdown (You Tube ~ 2 mins.)

I have to tell you, very few things have given my wife and me such pure joy, such a feeling of "yes, it was all worth it," as seeing him make that huge play. All of my son's coaches and teammates congratulated him, and presented him with the game ball as a token of their appreciation.